Valley High School (West Des Moines, Iowa)

Valley High School is a three-year public high school in West Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The school hosts grades 10-12. It is run by the West Des Moines Community Schools. Freshmen attend a separate school, Valley Southwoods.

As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,300 students (largest in the state of Iowa) and 127 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 18.0.^[1]

History

In October 1895, the doors opened to the first established high school in Valley Junction at 415 Seventh Street (the site of the present Phenix Elementary Early Childhood Center). Valley Junction’s first graduation was held on May 31, 1901 with just nine graduates.

By 1916, the population had grown and a bond issue was passed for a new high school. Construction on the three-story $50,000 structure at Eighth and Hillside was completed in 1917.

In 1938, when Valley Junction changed its name, the school district changed, too, becoming the West Des Moines Independent School District. At this time, one high school, a junior high school and three elementary schools served the needs of the community. In the same year and thanks to a grant from the Public Works Administrations, a new concrete stadium was built just north of the high school on Eighth Street.

In 1962, 38 acres (150,000 m²) of farmland near 35th and Ashworth Road were purchased by the School Board for $116,000 as a site for a new high school. Construction of Valley High School was completed in four phases from 1963 to 1970. Valley became a four-year high school during the 1971-72 school year. Costing nearly $5.5 million, Valley High School stretched almost one-quarter of a mile from end to end. Also in 1971, Valley opened the Metropolitan Conference’s newest and largest gymnasium. Additional classrooms, science labs, and other student spaces have been added over the years. The first year that the new school was open, it was used for classrooms for some sixth grade students and for the 9th grade year of the class of 1970. The next year, it became a three-year high school. The graduating class of 1975 was the first class to attend 4 years in the new building.

Academics

Valley offers almost 190 academic courses, including 17 Advanced Placement Program (AP) courses. Valley also has recently started an Honors Program, which is meant to be comparable to the IB (International Baccalaureate) Program. This program allows for highly motivated and advanced students to take college-level courses sooner than normal. Valley also has a "designated scholars" program, which allows students to specialize in one specific area of academics, such as math.

Athletics

Valley High has won 70 State Championships. The school has been honored as the top school for 4A athletics in Iowa by the Des Moines Register in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010.

Valley's former Athletic Director, Steve Duncan, was named the National High School Athletic Director of the year in 2006.^[2]

Football

The Valley High School football team won the Iowa State 4A Championships in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2011.

Wrestling

The Valley High School wrestling team won the 3A Dual tournament state title in 2016.

Baseball

The Valley High School Baseball team won the 4A state title four years in a row (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006).^[3]

Softball

The Valley High School Girls' Softball Team won State titles in 1990, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010.

Girls' Swimming

The Valley High School Girls' Swimming and Diving team won the state title in 1974, 1975, in addition to winning it four years in a row (2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008).

Girls' Track and Field

The Valley High School Girls' won the 4A State Track and Field Meet in 1998, 2003, and 2006.

Girls' Soccer

The Valley High School Girls' Soccer Team won the 4A State title in 2003, 2005, 2006,2007, 2002 and 2010.

Boys' Soccer

The Valley High School Boys' Soccer club won the state title 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006 and 2016.

Boys' Track and Field

The Valley High School Boys' Track and Field won the State title in Outdoor Track and Field in 1942, 1955, 1998, 2003 and 2006.

The Valley High School Boys' Track and Field won the State title in Indoor Track and Field in 1951 and 1952.

The Valley High School Boys' Track and Field won the State title in the Pentathlon in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Boys' Swimming

The Valley High School Boys' Swim Team won the 4A State title in 1984 and 2010.

Boys' Tennis

The Valley High School Boys' Tennis Team won the State title in 1985, 1986, 1993, 2010.

Girls' Golf

The Valley High School Girls' Golf Team won State title in 1968, 1970, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 3A in 1982, 1983, and 4A in 2006.

Boys' Golf

The Valley High School Boys' Golf Team won State title in 1976, 1988, 2007, and 2011.

Synchronized Swimming (No longer sanctioned by IGHSAU)

The Valley High School Girls' Synchronized Swim Team won the State title in 1979, 1980 and 1981. It is now held as a club sport during the winter and spring.

Girls' Tennis

The Valley High School Girls' Tennis Team won the State title in 1993, 2A in 1994 and 2001.

Boys' Basketball

The Valley High School Boys' Basketball Team won the 4A state title in 1993 and 2016.

Arts

The Arts, performing, aural, and visual, reflect the soul of Valley's strong tradition of success. The study of Art History, Art Criticism, Art Production, and Aesthetics guides the curriculum in the Visual Arts Department.

The Valley Music Department was honored with the first GRAMMY Signature School award in 1999.^[4][5][6] The 240-member Valley Marchmasters were selected to perform in the 2004 Tournament of Roses Parade.^[5] In March 2007, the band traveled to Dublin, Ireland to march in the Saint Patrick's Day Parade.

In addition to the strong band program, Valley's orchestra has completed concert tours in Austria and Italy. In June 2007, the orchestra traveled to New York City, New York to play at Carnegie Hall as part of NYBOF'07.^[7]

The school's Choral Department is currently headed by Connor Koppin and Haley Gibbons. The show, jazz, and core ensembles have performed in several national and international festivals from Carnegie Hall to Disney World, and received top honors at competitions throughout the country.^[8] In 2016, Valley Singers were invited to perform at the North Central ACDA Convention in Sioux Falls, SD. Valley's two show choirs, Choralation (varsity) and Ignition (JV) have been highly successful. Choralation routinely places in the top three and receives awards for Best Band, Best Choreography, and Best Vocals.

Drama participants have been selected as Iowa High School Speech Association All-State performers and have received the All-State Sweepstakes Trophy, as well as the Critic’s Choice Award.^[5] The Drama Department is defending the All-State Sweepstakes trophy for the fourth year in a row.

The school newspaper is the Spotlight, a member of the High School National Ad Network. In the early 1980s, the Spotlight was named the best high school newspaper in the United States, earning a Pacemaker Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Additionally, many of the student journalists who worked on the Spotlight have received awards and other recognition from sources such as the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the Los Angeles Times / National Scholastic Press Association, the Quill and Scroll, and the Journalism Education Association.

The school also has a high school radio station, KWDM, which broadcasts from 6am to 6pm, Monday through Friday. It is one of only two high school radio programs in Iowa and the only high school program in the state to have a fully digital production and on-air studio.^[9]

Former Valley principal Vicky Poole was named Principal of the Year (2006) by the American News Teachers Association.

Mimes Performing at Valley's 2005 Winter Assembly

The Bakers Dozen is the school's Mime and Improv Troupe. The troupe started in 1969 and has been performing around the Des Moines area for over 40 years. The Baker's Dozen, or "BD" as it is more commonly known, is a student run organization, and currently consists of 13 members. They perform two official shows a year, along with various smaller shows around the community. The two annual shows are the Fall Nite o' Mime, and Spring Nite o' Mime. The troupe is known for its mix of traditional mime technique and topical subject matter, practicing what is known as pantomime.

The Baker's Dozen performs in Valley High School's filled Auditorium. Each show consists of about 20 skits, some comedies and others carrying important and meaningful messages. The shows also include the "Storybook" segment, in which the mimes use satire to poke fun at current events within the school and around the world. All skits performed are written by members of The Baker's Dozen and are then rehearsed for a week before the show, as lighting and sound is worked into every skit. Each member writes skits and votes on the skits in order to make the highest quality show for the audience.

Every year the senior members leave the troupe after the Spring Nite o' Mime, and the following year after the fall Nite o' Mime new "baby mimes" are chosen to replace the seniors. One notable former member is Peter Hedges, a Film director and screenwriter^[10][11]

Activities

Valley High School won the 2006 National High School Mock Trial Championship, held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and more recently won the state competition in 2011.^[12] Valley has a large selection of clubs for students to participate in.

The Valley High School debate team has won the Lincoln-Douglas division of the Tournament of Champions (debate), the debate national championship,^[13] more times than any other high school in the United States.^[14] In the 2015-16 debate season, they were in the top five programs in the country by number of Tournament of Champions bids and hosted a tournament with an octafinals bid to the Tournament of Champions in Lincoln-Douglas, the highest level, one of only eight high schools in the country to do so.^[15]

Safe Schools

Valley, and the West Des Moines Community School District, are known for having and working toward a more open and accepting environment for people from all walks of life. Chet Culver, the former Governor of Iowa signed trailblazing legislation in 2008 at Valley that required all school districts to update their harassment policies, including gender identity, a classification which is frequently ignored across the country and across the world.^[16] Beyond legislation, Valley and its district is active in enforcing their own policies and improving the climate for all students, best illustrated when Superintendent Dr. Tom Narak was the first recipient of the Kathy Collins Reilly “Courage in Education Award” which recognizes educators for courage and work for student equality.^[17]

Construction

Construction at Valley was completed in 2008. Construction included demolishing the former east wing which housed language arts and social studies classrooms, expanding the parking lot, and building a new two-story southwest wing that houses the social studies, language arts, and visual arts departments. The school's media center was also demolished as a part of the former east wing and is now at the center of the school, along with the rebuilt administrative offices and counseling offices. More construction is planned for the near future, including a new auditorium.

Notable alumni

• Matt Bullard (born 1967), retired NBA player and NBA champion 1993-94^[18]
• Jared Clauss (born 1981), retired professional football player, played for the Tennessee Titans after being drafted in the 7th round from the University of Iowa^[19]
• Justin Hartwig (born 1978), center for the Pittsburgh Steelers^[20]
• Peter Hedges (born 1962), film director and screenwriter^[21]
• Dan Jennings (born 1987), pitcher for the Chicago White Sox
• Shawn Johnson (born 1992), retired artistic gymnast, Olympic gold and silver medalist, Dancing with the Stars Season Eight winner and Dancing with the Stars Season Fifteen runner-up ^[22]
• Karlos Kirby (born 1968), Olympic bobsledder
• Katelyn Epperly (born 1990), American Idol Season 9
• Carl Pohlad (1915-2009), businessman and owner of the Minnesota Twins
• Major General Roger W. Sandler, US Army Retired (born 1934), Chief, United States Army Reserve, 1991-1994.

References

External links

• Valley High School
• West Des Moines School District Website